Sickness, Love, and Herbs
by pamplemousse07
Summary: When Astrid becomes sick, Hiccup must venture out on a quest to save Astrid. Will he be able to complete it in time?
1. Wintertime

**Before I say anything else… you may have noticed that I removed chapter 1 from this story. It seemed like more of a one-shot to me, so I just separated it from this particular story. I think it makes the story flow much more easily! Yes… I also changed the title of the story. I had to completely delete this story from the account and publish it again, so all of your reviews have been deleted… sorry! Anyway, I hope that you continue to review!**

Snow was falling.

_Crap,_ Hiccup thought. That meant that it was winter. And winter was the hardest time to get food for the village. Stoick made sure that Hiccup had more things to do as son of the chief, which included getting food. And Hiccup hated the winter.

"Well son, looks like we better go get food before too much snow falls," Stoick said to Hiccup. "And we better get going now, because who knows how much snow will fall."

Hiccup groaned.

"Why now, Dad? Don't we have enough food to last us for awhile?" Hiccup knew that his father could tell he was lying. The truth was that he didn't want to leave Astrid. Or Toothless, for that matter. Stoick put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Now Hiccup, as son of the chief, you are-"

"-Expected to do everything in order to prepare for being chief. Yeah, Dad, I know." Hiccup interrupted. Stoick sighed and told Hiccup,

"I'll give you a few minutes to go say goodbye to Astrid, if you like. And let her know that she can take care of Toothless."

Hiccup first ran to get Toothless, and then ended up at Astrid's house. He knocked quickly on the door, to get out of the snow. Astrid opened the door and glanced from Toothless to Hiccup.

"Hey, Astrid." Hiccup gestured to Toothless. "Want to take care of him for awhile?" Astrid looked generally confused. Before Hiccup could complain, he shivered.

"Oh!" Astrid opened the door wider and let Hiccup and Toothless inside, and sat them by the fire. "I'm sorry, I forgot that you hated the cold."

"It's fine." Hiccup said, even though he continued to shiver. Astrid reached over to him and rubbed his hands between hers.

"So what were you saying?" She asked.

"Well, my dad is making me go with him to get some food, and we aren't sure how long we'll be gone, and Toothless gets rather lonely, and I know how much you like him, so would you be willing to watch him while we're gone?" Astrid looked concerned.

"I-I would like to take care of him, but are you going to be okay, out in the cold?" Hiccup hated it when people worried about him in the cold. It made him feel even weaker than he already was.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Astrid still looked worried, and Hiccup had to leave before he stayed there forever. "I should be going too." He stood up and patted Toothless on the head. "See you later, buddy." He and Astrid walked to the door, but Astrid stopped him before he opened it.

"Be careful out there," She said seriously. Hiccup nodded, and noticed she was fumbling with her bracelet he had given her. He took her hand and brought it up between their faces.

"See? I'll always be with you. Bye, Astrid." Then he did something he had never done before; he pressed his lips against Astrid's, quickly, and then left her house without looking back.

"You all ready Hiccup?" Stoick asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Hiccup replied, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

"All right, let's go." Hiccup followed his father out of their house, and they headed into the distance. Hiccup stole a glance at Astrid's house, and was horrified to see her standing there. He smiled quickly at her, but then looked away and stared at his father's

back.

**A FEW DAYS LATER**

Hiccup was shivering violently. He had never been more cold in his entire life. Stoick had left their cave to go find some firewood. Hiccup wrapped himself up so tightly, that he barely could move, other than his shivering.

_I hate this,_ he thought. _I hope we're leaving soon._ He was usually thinking about Astrid. That's what he was doing now. He was thinking about her and imagining that she was here, arms wrapped around him, keeping him warm. It was slightly working, but he was still cold. Just then, Stoick entered the cave, with no firewood. He took one glance at Hiccup, and started putting away their belongings.

"D-d-dad? Wh-h-at are you doi-i-ng?" Hiccup managed to get out.

"We're going. I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm going to come back later with someone else. Who isn't as sensitive as you are. And I'm doing this because I care about your health. We have enough food for awhile, and I'll come back tomorrow with someone else. So pack up, we're leaving."

"A-a-re you sure?" Hiccup couldn't believe it. They were going to go back! Where it was warm and where Astrid and Toothless were waiting.

"Yes, I'm sure. I can't stand to see you like this." Stoick paused and walked over to his son. He lifted him off the ground and planted him firmly on his feet. He rubbed his hands up and down Hiccup's shoulder, generating heat.

"Thanks Dad," Hiccup said. Stoick smiled at his son and grabbed their bags.

"You ready?" Stoick asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Stoick let out a laugh and walked out of the cave with Hiccup.

**BACK AT THE VILLAGE**

Hiccup had never been happier to be back at his village. The first place he was going to go after he warmed up, was Astrid's. Stoick made a stop at Meade Hall, to drop the meat, and Hiccup ran to their house. He threw on a few extra layers of clothing, and sat by the fire for a moment, before getting up at running to Astrid's house. Before he could get there, he was stopped by Ruffnut, who was coming from the direction of her house.

"Hiccup!" She looked happy to see him at first, and then she glanced back at Astrid's house, and looked slightly scared. "You're going to see Astrid, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and, um, I'll just, be on my way." He tried to make his way past her, but she stopped him.

"I'm warning you now, you might not want to." Hiccup stopped. What happened to her?

"Um, can I ask why?"

"She's, well, she's sick Hiccup. Really sick."

**Okay, so I'm realizing that these chapters are preeeeetttyyy short. I'll try and make the next one longer!**


	2. The Sickness

**Here is chapter 2 everyone! Wow, I am really getting these things out quickly, aren't I? I've been working on this one for awhile, and I hope you enjoy!**

Hiccup's heart broke. He entered Astrid's room and saw her lying limply on her bed. She slowly turned and looked at him, and gave him a sad smile. Even when she was sick, she looked beautiful. Her blonde hair was taken out of her braid and was spread across her pillow. She looked as though she had been sweating since Hiccup left; her face was covered with red blotches, and her eyes looked as though she had been crying.

"Astrid…" Hiccup slowly made his way towards her. "Astrid, what happened?" He sat down on her bed beside her, and took her hand.

"Just-" She coughed. "Just a cold." Astrid was lying, and they both knew it. Hiccup was mentally kicking himself.

"That's not what Ruffnut said."

"Ruffnut? Well she tends to ex-" Cough. "Exaggerate."

"I shouldn't have left. I shouldn't have."

"Hiccup, I would have gotten sick even if you didn't leave. And I'm fine. I'll be better in no time." If only it were true. She let out another dry cough. "Toothless is fine too. I let him outside. You know how he hates being indoors." Astrid tried to laugh, but it didn't work.

"Have you been to a healer?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, my parents brought me the other day. The healer said that if I rest a lot, I should be fine." Should. Hiccup hated that word. He stood up from her bed and bent over to kiss her forehead.

"Then rest. If that's what it takes to get you better, then so be it."

"Promise to come back?" Astrid whispered.

"Promise."

Hiccup went around Astrid's house and found Toothless curled up in a ball.

"C'mon bud, we have to go home now." Toothless looked up at him, sadly. Hiccup knew how much Toothless liked Astrid. "We'll come back again tomorrow, okay?" Toothless stood up, stretched and walked over to Hiccup. He rubbed Hiccup's hand with his nose, wanting to be scratched. Hiccup scratched his head, only for a moment. He turned and started to head back to his house, looking behind him to see if Toothless was following. He was.

"Did you go back and see Astrid?" Stoick asked his son when he returned.

"Yeah."

"Don't look so sad, son! What's bothering you?"

"Astrid's sick."

"Oh. _Oh."_ Hiccup didn't want to hear it. He walked out of the room before his father could say anything else. He didn't want people to feel sorry for him. But, as expected, Stoick followed him anyway. "Hiccup, wait." Hiccup stopped and turned and looked up at his father.

"I'm fine, Dad. Just a little shaken up, is all," Hiccup replied.

"Hiccup, I've been hearing from other people about a sickness going around. Not around here, necessarily, but it could be starting. Many of the Vikings sailed to a different island awhile ago."

"What island?"

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, on that island, many people were getting sick, and some of the Vikings could have brought it back." Hiccup stood there, slightly shocked.

"Well, is there any way to cure it?"

"I'm not sure. I'll grab one of the Vikings who went, and we'll go check on her, okay?" Telling by the look on Hiccup's face, it wasn't okay. "She'll be fine son." Stoick turned abruptly and left the house. Hiccup hoped that he was right.

Hiccup had sat in his room, scratching Toothless's ears until his father came back. When he heard the door open, he leapt off his bed and ran out of the room.

"How is she?" He demanded. Stoick sighed.

"You don't even give me a minute to breath, do you?"

"Dad…"

"Okay, okay sorry. Well, she does have the sickness I was telling you about."

"What? You say it like it's no big deal! Dad, please tell me that we can cure her."

"Well, we can…"

"We can…?" Hiccup pushed his father to say more.

"We can… But it won't be easy."

"What do you mean 'it won't be easy'?"

"There is an herb."

"An herb," Hiccup repeated, not comprehending the importance of an herb.

"The herb will heal her."

"Well, then, where is it? Let's go get it!" Hiccup completely forgot about his father's mention of it not being easy. He just wanted Astrid to be better.

"It's not that easy, Hiccup. It is only found on the very, _very_ far side of the island."

"So? It may be cold, but that won't stop me, Dad." Stoick sighed again, and rubbed his eyes.

"You don't understand. It's very dangerous over there." Hiccup stared at Stoick.

"How dangerous?"

"Dangerous." Hiccup took from the seriousness in his father's voice, that it was.

"Well, can we try?"

"I'm not sure. It may be too risky. And you would be sacrificing yourself for Astrid. If that's what you want." Of course that was what he wanted. He wanted Astrid to be alive and happy, and if that meant sacrificing himself to save her, he would do it. "Think about if first, Hiccup."

"Fine. I'm going to see her."

"Astrid?" Hiccup whispered. She looked as though she were sleeping, but when he said her name, her eyes fluttered open.

"Hiccup…" Hiccup quickly went by her side.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as calmly as he could manage.

"Same old." Astrid shrugged.

"I'm going to heal you, Astrid. There is an herb that will heal you, and I'm going to get it. Even if it kills me." Astrid gasped and shook her head.

"Don't say that, Hiccup! I don't believe any of this. Everyone is overreacting about a little cold, and it's just ridiculous."

"Astrid, I know you like to not be taken care of, but you're sick. It's not just a cold. And you need to be healed." Astrid didn't say anything back to him. She reached a hand up to his face, and stroked his hair.

"Even when you're worried, you're still adorable," Astrid said in an attempt to make Hiccup smile. It worked. But it wasn't a happy smile, it was sad and worrisome.

"And even when you're sick, you're still beautiful." Hiccup covered Astrid's hand with his own, and it was Astrid's turn to smile.

"Do what you must Hiccup, just be careful." Hiccup couldn't take it anymore. He reached under Astrid's back and gently pulled her up towards him. Astrid looked curiously in his eyes, and smiled again. "I don't want to get you sick."

"If you do, I'll just grab more herbs." It was taking all of Hiccup's strength to not squeeze her. Astrid leaned forward and gave him a hug. He made her feel safe.

"I'll come back before I leave."

"When will you leave?" Astrid whispered against his shoulder. Hiccup thought for a moment and then answered,

"Tomorrow." Astrid squeezed him tighter and then pulled back.

"Okay." He opened his mouth to say something, but Astrid didn't let him. She kissed him with as much passion as she possibly could. She knew that once he left, it would be awhile before she saw him again. Hiccup sighed and pulled away from her.

"I'll be here when you wake up in the morning." He helped Astrid lay back down in her bed, and stood up.

"I love you, Hiccup." Hiccup tried his best at smiling.

"And I love you."

**There you have it… Expect to see Chapter 4 sometime soon :D**


	3. The Departure

**Before I say anything else… you may have noticed that I removed chapter 1 from this story. It seemed like more of a one-shot to me, so I just separated it from this particular story. I think it makes the story flow much more easily! Yes… I also changed the title of the story.**

**Hello again! I quickly wanted to thank the people who have reviewed my story; you are the sole reason why I am still writing this story, and you get me excited to write again! So thanks to you :)**

**Oh, and I should probably say that I own absolutely nothing. Everything belongs to Dreamworks and Cressida Cowell!**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Stoick was helping Hiccup pack his bag for the quest he was about to take.

"Yes Dad, I'm 100 percent sure. And I'll have Toothless, so I'll be fine." Stoick only hoped so.

"Well, I'll let you know that there are dragons over there… not so nice ones. Not like the ones we have here. They won't cut you some slack because you're trying to save your girlfriend." Hiccup figured that part out.

"Yeah Dad." Hiccup was starting to get irritated. Why did no one believe he could do this? He finished packing his bag and threw it over his shoulder. He took a deep breath in and headed for the door. Before opening it, he heard Stoick say,

"Hiccup, wait."

"Dad, just-please-let me go. I need to get Toothless, and I have to say goodbye to Astrid."

"Yes, well you can say goodbye to me first." Stoick stomped over to his son and promptly lifted him into his arms, crushing him.

"Uh, Dad?" Hiccup coughed. He had never seen his dad react like this. _Ever._

"Be careful son." Stoick put Hiccup back on the ground, who brushed himself off.

"Well, um… yeah, bye Dad." Hiccup waved at his father and started to head out the door.

"I love you son." Hiccup stopped in his tracks. He hadn't heard his father say that in a very long time. He turned around.

"I love you too Dad."

* * *

"Hiccup, don't go! Please! I'll be fine, I swear. Don't risk it," Astrid pleaded to Hiccup.

"Astrid, I have to. Look at yourself! You barely can move and you've been lying in bed for days. I have to do this. For you." Astrid took a deep breath in and her left hand went to her right wrist, as if she were expecting something to be there. _The bracelet._

"Hiccup, before you go… I uh… need to tell you something." She paused, waiting for Hiccup to say something, but he didn't open his mouth. "I lost the bracelet." She said abruptly. "I-I didn't mean to, Hiccup. I just woke up one morning and it was gone. I shouldn't have-it's all-you made… I'm sorry," She said struggling for the right words. Hiccup didn't really register what she had said.

"No, um, it's fine. It was just a stupid bracelet anyway."

"Don't say that!" She started to sit up in her bed, but Hiccup gently pushed her back down.

"Don't worry about it Astrid. There are more important things anyway. Like getting you healthy." Hiccup leaned over Astrid and kissed her while he stroked her face. "I love you so much Astrid. And I'll be back with that herb. I promise."

"Hiccup…" Astrid whispered. "Just come home safely. And I love you too." Hiccup kissed her once again and swiftly left her house.

* * *

When Hiccup got outside, Toothless was waiting for him.

"Hey, bud. Are you ready?" Toothless walked closer to Hiccup, and gestured for him to climb on his back. Hiccup did with ease, and slid his real foot into the slot. He glanced at his metal foot and sighed before also sliding it in. "Okay Toothless, let's go." Toothless swooped up in the air, with Hiccup helping him along. It felt good to be in the sky again, the wind blowing against him. But hew knew that he was going somewhere very dangerous. But he had Toothless. They flew out of their village, and suddenly, Hiccup felt as though he may never see it again.

**Okay, so I know this chapter is SUPER short, but I wanted the next one to be all about his quest, so expect that one to be much longer! Which means it may be awhile before I finish it. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Herbs

**Here you are… chapter 4! Sorry for the long wait… I was on break from school before, but we started up again, so I've been really busy! Hope you enjoy :) **

Hiccup was starting to get very nervous. He could no longer see his village when he turned around and looked. All he could think about was Astrid suffering by herself. He knew he had to do this quickly. Stoick had never specifically told Hiccup where to go, so Hiccup figured he would fly Toothless to the very edge of the island. They had been flying for quite some time when Toothless became tired. His wings didn't flap as quickly as they had been, and his head started to droop.

"Toothless, what's wrong? Are you tired?" Hiccup sighed. Toothless never got tired when he flew him. He searched the ground for a place to land, and eased Toothless down. "There bud, now you can rest. He took off Toothless' harness and let him rest. Hiccup sat down and opened up his bag for a quick snack. He watched Toothless as his breaths slowed down and he was sleeping peacefully. They couldn't wait here for very long. But Hiccup didn't want to wake Toothless up. He himself wanted to fall asleep and forget about this whole quest. But he had to save Astrid, no matter what.

* * *

"Toothless. Bud, you have to get up now." Hiccup poked Toothless' face and it twitched under him. "C'mon Toothless, we have to go." Toothless let out a low growl, but opened his eyes. Hiccup smiled at him and began to put on his harness. "Sorry, but we have to do this soon." Hiccup climbed onto Toothless' back and they flew into the air.

* * *

Hiccup could see the edge of the island. He had never felt so nervous before in his entire life. He wasn't quite so sure what to expect. He hesitantly lowered Toothless to the ground, and when they landed, nothing sprung out at them. Nothing ate them right away. That had been what Hiccup was expecting, as much as he didn't want it to be true.

"Well Toothless, we're off to a good start!" Hiccup was trying to keep his spirits as high as possible, but it was very difficult. _"Now, where am I to find these herbs?"_ Hiccup thought to himself. He figured that they should probably rest for a little bit first, so he took Toothless' harness off him and leaned against a tree. It didn't take very long before he dozed off to sleep.

* * *

Hiccup could hear something in the distance. He thought it was just Toothless playing with some animal, but then he realized that Toothless was being far too loud. Hiccup opened his eyes slowly and looked around for Toothless.

"Toothless? Where are you?" It was incredibly hard to see, especially Toothless, because night had fallen. "Toothless!" Hiccup yelled. He put his hands out in front of him so he didn't run into anything and followed Toothless' roars. He could tell that he was getting closer, but it was impossible to see where he was.

"Toothless, where are you?" Hiccup yelled again, only to be surprised by a pair of bright green eyes flash towards him. "There you are." He ran towards Toothless and grabbed a hold of him. "What's wrong?" Toothless growled again and looked up in the sky. Hiccup followed his gaze and saw a huge, dark figure flying through the sky. Panic struck Hiccup. Was that another dragon? Probably.

"Was that down here, bud?" Hiccup asked Toothless. Toothless responded by nudging Hiccup's arm, wanting to chase after the dragon. "No, Toothless, we can't go after it, it's too-" Hiccup heard a loud _thump_ somewhere around him. He swallowed hard.

"-Dangerous." He whispered. Hiccup whirled around in circles, trying to make out a figure. "Who's there?" He yelled. He then heard a blood-curdling scream come from somewhere around him. He had never wanted to be safe at home so badly. He would have jumped on Toothless and flown away, but his bag and harness were back amongst the darkness. He would never be able to find his way back in time. Toothless suddenly shot out a fireball into the woods. Hiccup waited silently to see if he could hear something fall over, but he didn't. Instead, he heard pounding, like something was walking. Towards him and Toothless. _"Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no."_ Hiccup started to panic. He kept on spinning around, hoping to see something, but he couldn't. Just then, a dragon appeared before them.

* * *

"Toothless, run!" Hiccup didn't do as much as glance at the dragon. He knew that it was out for a kill and Hiccup was the bait. There was no way he and Toothless could outrun this dragon that could fly. As they ran through the woods, Toothless would occasionally turn around and shoot fireballs at the monster, but it wasn't doing much. Hiccup soon became out of breath, but he knew he couldn't stop. The monster dragon blew fire over the trees, and just narrowly missed hitting Toothless.

"Toothless… we-go-run-faster!" Hiccup managed to wheeze out. He glanced up at what was chasing it and instantly recognized it. He had never seen one in real life before, but he read about it in the Dragon Manual. And of course, it was the Changewing. Just as Hiccup was thinking that he was going to be killed right here, he saw Toothless stop out of the corner of his eye.

"Toothless!" He stopped and ran back to his dragon. Toothless was lying crookedly on the ground, moaning in pain. "Oh, _Toothless…"_His legs had been sprayed with acid just seconds before. Hiccup was very aware of the dragon flying above him, but Toothless was more important now. "Toothless… we have to keep going. We have to." Hiccup wanted so badly to stay right where he was and help Toothless, but their lives were on the line. Toothless looked sadly at Hiccup.

"C'mon, bud, you can do this." Hiccup glanced above him again and narrowly missed getting sprayed by acid. He helped Toothless off the ground, and he helped him walk. "It's okay Toothless, we're going to be fine." Hiccup said this, but he didn't know whether or not it was true. Toothless was constantly whimpering, but he never stopped. The Changewing, however, decided that they were to hard to get control of, and he eventually flew away.

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless had to get out of there. They needed to find the herb and leave, as soon as possible. The sun had risen and they were resting by a pond. Hiccup had washed Toothless' back legs, which helped calm him down. But it didn't erase the pain. For Toothless or Hiccup. Just seeing his dragon in such pain made him want to give up.

"Toothless, where are we going to find this dumb herb?" Hiccup asked and Toothless responded by looking sleepily at him. Hiccup sighed and stood up. He leaned over the pond and scooped some water into his hands to drink. Just as he was about to drink the water, he saw something peculiar. Stunned, he dropped the water and cheered.

"Toothless, Toothless, look! That's it, that has to be it!" He ran to the other side of the pond to an interesting looking plant. He knew right away that this is what they had been looking for. The plant was short and round, and had many small, red bulbs on it. They seemed to illuminate in the sunlight and gave off a faint shimmer. "Toothless, we-we did it," Hiccup whispered. Hiccup almost didn't know what to do. He stood there staring at the plant before grabbing a fistful and shoving it into his pocket. He ran back to Toothless and almost hopped right on, but then he remembered his legs.

"Do-do you think you can fly, Toothless?" Toothless glanced from Hiccup, to the plants in Hiccup's pocket. He then clumsily stood up and gestured to Hiccup to climb on. "Yes! You're the best!" Hiccup hopped on excitedly and helped Toothless off of the ground.

* * *

Hiccup could see his village.

"There it is, bud." Hiccup had never been happier in his entire life. Other than the fact that Astrid and Toothless were sick. But they were going to get better now. And everything would be like it was before. Toothless must have been happy too, because he let out a quick roar. Hiccup laughed and then in the distance he saw his father run out of their home.

"Hiccup! Hiccup's back!" He yelled. Everyone ran out of their houses and cheered as well. Hiccup landed softly as people crowded around him.

"Stop, stop it! Toothless is hurt!" He yelled over everyone. They backed away as Hiccup got off Toothless. "He's been sprayed with acid. Please… please cure him." Stoick walked up to Hiccup.

"Did you get the herbs?" Hiccup nodded. Stoick smiled brightly and patted his son on the shoulder. "I'll take Toothless. He'll be fine, don't worry. You go give the herbs to Astrid." He said the last part softly. Hiccup pulled the herbs out of his pocket and sprinted towards Astrid's house.

**The plot moved too quickly? What do you think? There are going to be 2 more chapters I think… maybe 3. Expect to see the next one up within the next week or so!**


	5. Don't leave

**M'kay everyone… here's chapter 5! Enjoy :)**

"Ast-Astrid…" Hiccup mumbled to himself as he reached Astrid's house. He was out of breath, tired, and cold, but that didn't stop him. He slowly opened the door and walked inside. "Hello?" He heard a slight weeping coming from Astrid's room.

"_Oh dear Odin, please don't let me be late."_ Hiccup walked to Astrid's room and saw her parents sitting on the bed, blocking his view of her. Her mother turned around, eyes filled with tears.

"Hiccup," She said with a sad smile. "You made it." Hiccup nodded and walked to the opposite side of Astrid's bed. She was sleeping. And she looked as though she had moments to live. Hiccup held back his tears and stroked her face. At his touch, her eyes slowly opened. She looked at Hiccup and smiled.

"You made it," She said, smiling at him.

"Yeah… I've been getting a lot of that." Astrid laughed softly and then looked at her parents.

"Oh, Astrid. Its fine, you're going to be fine. Hiccup has the herbs." Her father glanced at Hiccup. "You-you have the herbs, right?" Hiccup nodded again and her father let out a sigh of relief. He bent over Astrid and kissed her forehead. "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you more," Astrid replied. Her mother stroked her face gently, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Hiccup… the herbs," Astrid reminded him. "Quickly." That scared Hiccup. Did that mean she _did_ have moments to live? Not wanting to waste any more time, he pulled the herbs from his pocket and scooted closer to Astrid. Her parents stood up from the bed, not taking their eyes of Astrid, and moved aside.

"Do you… just eat them?" Hiccup asked. Astrid nodded and lifted a very weak arm to grab them, but her arm fell back on the bed. Hiccup gently reached under Astrid and held her in his arms. "Here Astrid." He put an herb by her lips and waited for her to open her mouth.

"Hiccup… I…" Astrid could barely speak. Her eyes slowly started to close and she tried to speak to Hiccup.

"Astrid? Astrid! Astrid, stay with me. No, Astrid!" Hiccup took her face in his hands and tried to keep her eyes open. He looked nervously back at Astrid's parents who were sobbing now. "What, what do I do?" Her parents just shook their heads and sighed deeply. Hiccup turned back to Astrid, who was raising her weak arm. She raised it to his cheek and gently stroked it. Hiccup's tears slowly ran down his face as he looked at Astrid.

"Astrid… don't leave me…" Astrid's hand began to fall back down and Hiccup panicked. "No, Astrid! Astrid, stay here, stay right here. I'm here, don't leave, please!" Having completely forgotten about the herbs until this very moment, Hiccup quickly put an herb in her mouth.

"C'mon Astrid, swallow it. Please," Hiccup whispered to her. She didn't appear to comprehend him. She didn't make any attempt to try and swallow the herb. It was almost as if she had just given up. Her head slowly started to fall to the side, but Hiccup lifted it with his hands.

"No no no no…. Astrid! Astrid swallow it, now! Don't do this. Just swallow it. Astrid? Astrid!" Her head had gone limp in his hands and her eyes closed. "No. No!" Hiccup's tears fell down his face freely as he shook Astrid. "Astrid wake up! Please… wake up…" He pressed his ear to her chest to check her breathing, but he felt nothing. Hiccup looked back at her parents, who were holding one another and crying.

"Astrid you can't leave me… us…" Hiccup pulled Astrid to him and hugged her limp body. He continued to mumble her name, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. She was gone…

* * *

Hiccup watched as Astrid's parents hugged and kissed her. This was all his fault. If only he got here sooner… then she would still be alive. Hiccup, tired from all the crying, slunk down onto the floor and pulled his knees to his chest. Gone… she was gone. Suddenly, her parents stood from the bed.

"I-can't-I'll-come-later." Her mother sobbed and was led out of the room by her husband. Hiccup glanced back at Astrid and pushed himself to his feet. He slowly made his way over to her, even though he knew nothing would happen. He sat next to her and held her cold hand. He couldn't even look at her. She was so undeniably beautiful, but she was… dead. Hiccup looked at the floor and cried softly to himself. He didn't know if he was going crazy, or if it actually happened, but he swore he felt Astrid's finger twitch. He jerked his head to face her, but she hadn't moved. Maybe he _was_ going crazy. But then he felt it again. His wide eyes searched Astrid's face, hoping, _praying¸_ that something would happen. But nothing did. Sighing, he looked away from her again. Just as he did, however, Astrid's hand gripped his.

"Astrid?" He looked back at her and moved the hair out of her face. As he did so, her eyes fluttered open. Hiccup couldn't believe it. _She was alive._ "Astrid!" He flung himself at her and hugged her tightly. "Astrid… you're alive." She hadn't said anything back to him, and he got slightly worried. He pulled away from her. "Astrid?" A smile slowly started to creep its way across her face.

"Hiccup. You saved me." Hiccup smiled back at her and hugged her again.

"I can't believe it. You died Astrid. I mean, you actually _died._ I didn't know what I would do without you." Astrid looked at Hiccup intently.

"I love you, Hiccup."

"I love you too." Astrid pulled him close to her and pressed her lips softly against his. Hiccup melted yet again. What would he have done without her?

"Astrid, I just need to ask a favor," Hiccup said, pulling away.

"What's that?" Astrid asked, looking confused.

"Don't ever get sick again."

**There you go! I'm thinking about one more chapter… maybe two. But I also thought that this might be a good ending point! Okay, let's say this… there WILL be one more chapter. For sure. I'll let you know if there will be another one!**


	6. Heartbeat

**Just to clarify… There is going to be one more chapter after this. One more! I can't believe that I'm finishing up my first fanfic! It's exciting :) And thanks so much for reading and reviewing!**

Hiccup had been forced to rest the next week. His father never let him leave the house, and insisted he stay in bed. Hiccup always tried to sneak out and go see Astrid, but Stoick would find him. Each time.

"Hiccup, you rest, and let Astrid's parents take care of her. She's fine, don't worry." He then would tell Hiccup to go back to bed, which he did. Hiccup was also worried about Toothless. He hadn't seen him in a long time. Since he came back to the village, in fact.

"Dad, can I at least go see Toothless?" Hiccup asked Stoick one evening. Stoick looked at Hiccup, contemplating, and then nodded. Hiccup nearly leaped with excitement. "Be right back!" He said as he ran out the door.

* * *

"Toothless?" Hiccup walked around to the back of his house, where Stoick had built a den for Toothless. He slowly opened to door and saw Toothless sleeping in the corner. He had a blanket over him, covering his back legs. As soon as Hiccup walked into the den, Toothless woke up. Not wanting Toothless to stand up, Hiccup ran over to him and sank down beside him. "How are you doing?" Toothless just looked ecstatic to see Hiccup. He nudged his face against Hiccup's, wanting to be pet, which Hiccup did willingly. Hiccup, curious, lifted the blanket off of Toothless and looked at his legs. They were wrapped up in white cloth, but other than that, they looked perfectly normal.

"Do they hurt?" Hiccup asked, standing up and looking at his legs closer. He gently placed his hand on Toothless' leg. "I'm sorry, Toothless. This is my fault." Hiccup sighed and rested against Toothless' belly. Toothless put his head on the ground and his breathing became steady under Hiccup. It wasn't long before Hiccup dozed off as well.

* * *

"Hiccup. Hiccup!" Was that… Astrid?

"Astrid!" Hiccup jolted awake, only to see Stoick standing over him. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Nope, just your father here. I was looking for you." Hiccup glanced around him and realized he was still in the den with Toothless.

"Oh, wow, I guess I fell asleep. Sorry." Hiccup stood and rubbed his eyes. Stoick looked like he had something on his mind, but didn't want to say it. "Uh, Dad? Everything okay?" Hiccup asked. Stoick looked at Hiccup, not saying anything, but he then blurted,

"Exactly _how_ big was the Changewing?" Changewing? Hiccup had never mentioned that to his father yet.

"I never told you about the Changewing, Dad."

"Yes, I know, but that's the only way you can get the herbs you were looking for."

"Come again?"

"The herbs only grow from the acid of a Changewing. And I've never actually seen one before, and I wanted to know if it was as big as they say it is," Stoick explained.

"Wait, wait, wait. Herbs growing from acid? That's odd," Hiccup said.

"Yes, it is, but when a Changewing sprays its acid, the herbs will grow from it." Hiccup nodded and then answered Stoick's question.

"Yeah, it was _huge_." Stoick laughed and clapped his son on the back.

"Well in that case, you may go see Astrid." Hiccup didn't even realize what he had said.

"I ca- I can go?" Stoick nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Dad!" Hiccup rushed out of the den.

* * *

"Hiccup!" Astrid leapt off her bed and sprinted towards him.

"Astrid, I don't think you should-" Hiccup was cut off by Astrid throwing herself on him. She threw her arms around him and squeezed. _Hard._

"Astrid-can't-breath." Hiccup managed to cough out. She loosened her grip on him, only slightly. Hiccup smiled and hugged her back. Astrid kissed him on the cheek and pulled away.

"I've been trying to come and see you, but my parents wouldn't let me leave the house," Astrid told him.

"Same here," Hiccup said with a laugh.

"I can't believe that you actually did it. How big was the Changewing?"

"Really? Did everyone know about that but me?"

"That the Changewing's acid makes the herbs I needed?" Hiccup nodded. "Apparently." They both smiled at each other and Hiccup pulled her in close again. He pressed his face into the crook of her neck and kissed her.

"Thank you, Hiccup. I wouldn't be here without you." Astrid whispered softly. Hiccup pulled away quickly and saw Astrid looking at the ground.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Have I made the rock hard Astrid cry?" He could see Astrid smile, but she wouldn't look up at him. "Who knew, huh? All I had to do was risk my life to save yours, and you cry on me!" Hiccup placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face. To his disbelief, her eyes were swimming with tears, and she had tears streaming down her face. "Why are you crying? Everything is better now. You're healthy again." Hiccup received a smile from Astrid.

"I just can't believe that you did all this for me. And that you're… mine." Astrid mumbled the last word.

"I'm what? Sorry, I didn't hear that last word." Astrid could sense Hiccup's sarcasm, and laughed.

"Mine!" Hiccup wiped a tear off of Astrid's cheek.

"I can't believe you're mine either." A huge smile spread across Astrid's face and Hiccup wasn't expecting the blow to come.

"Ow!" Hiccup grasped his arm, staring at Astrid's closed fist.

"_That_ was for making me cry." Hiccup looked up at Astrid and saw her smirking. She walked up very close to him, making his heart pound. She could probably hear it, too. As if reading his mind, she placed a hand over his heart. Hiccup felt his face get red.

"Oookay…" Hiccup said, taking her hand off his chest. Astrid smiled once again and kissed him. If it were even possible, Hiccup's heart beat even faster as she pressed herself against him. He placed his hands on either side of her face and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. He could feel Astrid's lips curl up into a smile and she pulled him even closer. Hiccup couldn't believe that he was here, with the most beautiful girl on the planet. When he was here, kissing her, it felt like they were one person. As if they had simply molded together. And Hiccup didn't have one problem with that. But, just as quickly as it had started, Astrid pulled away and pressed her forehead against his, staring into his eyes.

"And that's for everything else." Hiccup kissed her quickly once more before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her again. Standing there with Astrid felt right to him, and he knew that this was where he belonged.

**Yay, everyone is happy again! All right so one more chapter after this and then I'm done! With this story, at least… Thanks a bunch for reading!**


	7. Only One Person

**Hey everyone! Here is the final chapter of this story! I hope you all enjoy and just to let you know… I plan on making a sequel. I didn't want this story to be too long, so I'll be making a new story! Oh, and this chapter occurs… a few months after Astrid is better. Okay, maybe like 6 months. Or maybe a year. I'm not sure, but its been awhile since Astrid was healed! Anyway, thanks so much for reading :)**

As Toothless flew high up into the wispy clouds, Astrid tightened her grip on Hiccup. She remembered the first time she ever flew on Toothless, and how amazing it was, and how everything was different now. She smiled to herself and rested her head on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup knew that it was the right time. He had something to ask Astrid, but he's been waiting for the perfect moment.

"Astrid, I'm gonna land now."

"Okay," Astrid replied, reluctantly. Hiccup eased them down onto a cliff that jutted out from the island. It pointed straight towards the setting sun. Toothless calmly waited for them to get off, and then ran off to play with a squirrel, probably. Astrid sat herself down directly below the sun and closed her eyes. She heard Hiccup sit down next to her, and could feel him watching her. She opened her eyes and glanced at him. He didn't look away, but he blushed.

"What?" Astrid asked.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Astrid laughed and replied,

"I do now." Hiccup received a quick kiss from Astrid.

"Astrid, I… have something for you."

"Mmmm?" She faced the sun again, soaking up the heat. When he didn't reply, she became curious. She glanced at him and didn't expect to see what she did. Hiccup, down on one knee, was holding a small velvet box. Astrid's heart skipped a beat. She leapt to her feet.

"Whoa… Um… what?" Hiccup smiled at her confusion.

"Astrid. Will you," He opened the box, "marry me?" Astrid nearly fell back to the ground.

"Marry? Um… Hiccup, we're only seventeen."

"Well, we can wait. I had to ask." Astrid stared into Hiccup's eager face. How could she say no? She kneeled down in front of him.

"Hiccup… you know I love you but this…" She gestured to the ring between them. "…This might be a little fast." Hiccup's face fell. Astrid mentally kicked herself. What was she doing? "Hiccup, no, don't listen to me. I don't know what I'm talking about. It's just that… all of this is going really quickly and… I can't… _you_ can't…" Astrid mumbled incoherently to herself.

"Astrid, you don't have to say yes. I'm sorry for rushing you, or whatever, I just… I love you, Astrid." He brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"I love you too. More than I probably should." They both laughed.

"Well, here," Hiccup said as he closed the box. "You take this, and you can think about it okay? And I mean, you can say no if you want, I could care less, just as long as…" Hiccup rambled on, but Astrid wasn't listening. She was watching him, and thinking. She _could_ marry him. Even now. They don't need to wait. Although, they probably should, for the sake of their parents. She loved him enough, why couldn't she marry him? And here he was, still rambling on about something. She watched him and thought to herself,

"_He's perfect. You're not going to find anyone better than him. Or anyone who loves you as much as him."_ Astrid, wanting the rambling to end, pressed her lips against his. Confused, Hiccup sat there for a moment, not really knowing what just happened. Astrid pulled away, wanting to tell him her answer.

"Yes," She whispered. Hiccup took a double take.

"Wh-what?"

"I'm saying yes." Hiccup's face lit up.

"Really?" Astrid nodded and Hiccup threw his arms around her. There wasn't any more need for words. They just sat there, hugging one another and knowing that Astrid had made the right decision.

* * *

The sun had fallen and the moon was up. Hiccup and Astrid were in the same place as there were hours ago. They were talking about their wedding.

"Oh, and we get to tell our parents! You can tell Stoick… I'll stick with telling my parents," Astrid said, glancing at Hiccup. He laughed in response. Astrid was resting her head on Hiccup's lap as he brushed his fingers through her hair.

"I think I can do that," Hiccup replied. Then, Astrid groaned.

"This means I'm going to have to wear a white dress, doesn't it?" Hiccup grinned at the thought of Astrid walking down the aisle towards him.

"Yes, it does. But it also means I have to wear a tuxedo!" Astrid burst out laughing. "What?" Hiccup asked, confused.

"Nothing… it's just imagining you in a-a tux-edo!" Astrid could barely catch her breath.

"Hey!" Hiccup exclaimed as Astrid rolled around on his legs.

"Ah… I'm sorry! I'm sure you'll look handsome. It just caught me by surprise."

"And I'm sure you'll look beautiful in a white dress." Hiccup leaned down and kissed Astrid's forehead.

"Thank you for asking me, Hiccup."

"You're more than welcome." They exchanged smiles.

"You know," Astrid said, propping herself up on her elbows, "I think that having a wedding will be a very good thing."

"Really? Intrigue me."

"Yes, I do." Realizing what she just said, she laughed.

"Preparing yourself for the big day?" Hiccup asked, laughing right along with her.

"That was an accident!" Astrid softly punched his arm.

"Why do you think having a wedding is a good thing?" Hiccup asked, rubbing his arm.

"Because we get to… officialize… is that a word? Well, we get to _officialize_ our love. And I know that sounds ridiculously cheesy, but it's true." Hiccup reached into his pocket and pulled out the little square box.

"It's true. Now, do I get to put this on your finger?" Hiccup pulled the ring out, which was absolutely gorgeous. "It was my mom's."

"It's beautiful." Astrid stuck her hand out and wiggled her fingers at him. "Go on, I'm only going to be a wife once." Hiccup grinned and slipped the ring onto Astrid's finger.

"Better?" Hiccup asked.

"Much." Astrid leaned forward and kissed Hiccup. She was so glad that he had proposed to her, even though she didn't know it until now. Astrid pulled away and looked again at her left hand.

"There's only one person in this whole world who I would have wanted to put this ring on my finger." Hiccup's lips turned up into a smile. He pointed to himself, acting shocked.

"Wow. I never would have guessed." Astrid pushed him to the ground.

"Of course it's you!" Hiccup was laughing. Astrid fell down into the grass as well, and they looked at each other. Hiccup entwined his hand with hers.

"Let me just say… There's only one person in this whole world who I would put that ring on." Mocking Hiccup, Astrid looked shocked.

"I love you, Hiccup."

"I love you more." They smiled at one another and fell into a dream filled sleep.

**So there you go! The end of my first story! Thank you so much for those of you who read and review; you are the sole reason why this story was written :) Hope you enjoyed, and keep an eye out for the sequel!**


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